‘Distinguishing information’ about me, the quilter, is that, at the age of thirty two, I feel (like Miss Jean Brodie) that I’m in my prime, but mine is going to last a lot longer than hers. I’m an often exasperated, but always committed, member of...

“[…] Washington is placed in an elaborate setting equal to his importance. In the Grand Manner tradition of portraiture, his is before a velvet drapery swag and a classical column, both alluding to his high rank, and surrounded by the attributes of...

“A reconstructed view over the Campus Martius, where many of the entertainment buildings were constructed. In the foreground is the Theatre of Pompey with the Portico, and the Theatre of Balbus beyond. At the top of the picture, on the banks of the...

“A reconstruction of the Agora in about 400 BC, seen from the east. […] In the bottom left hand corner is the Mint, with the south-east fountain house behind. Next to this is the South Stoa. The Pnyx assembly platform is above the stoa to the left...

“A reconstruction of the three figures […], based on fragments of sixth-century sculptures found on the Acropolis. […] Although it is known that these figures would have been painted, no trace of the colouring [coloring] remains.” (combined...

“A section through the Propylaea, showing the northern half. The Pinakotheke is on the left. The gateway was approached by a broad ramp which was probably stepped. Visitors passed through a temple-like entrance composed of six Doric columns. Inside...

“Detail of the central image of the floor mosaic from the second century BC, which was found in the triclinium (dining hall) of the main atrium. This tiger’s head is from the so-called Tiger Rider, an image showing a Dionysian spirit riding on the...

“Gladiatorial scenes from the Zliten mosaic. The upper scene shows, on the far left, a retiarius wearing a shoulder shield (galerus) and arm guard (manica). He has been disarmed and wounded by a secutor and is holding up a finger in a plea for...

“Illustration of a suovetaurilia, a ritual sacrifice made before the start of a military offensive. At the bottom, a pig and a sheep are being led to the sacrificial altar. The ox which was also destined for sacrifice cannot be seen in this view....

“In various letters and diary notes the artist has explained how the preoccupation with ethnological problems, with the symbolism of colors, and certain literary concepts participated in the genesis of this canvas: ‘I painted the nude of a girl. In...

“Johnson is a practitioner of a style sometimes labeled ‘abstract illusionism’, making paintings where apparently solid but abstract forms float in illusionary space. Riverfront Break may have been suggested by the industrial forms of the New...

“Moreau has rendered Salome as an enchantress, the archetypal femme fatale who seduces Herod into performing her will. Moreau was very careful to avoid endowing the figure of Herod with any magisterial dignity but rather shows him as an old man,...

“Moving from the atrium to the exedra, one passes through a tablinum or open living room (2), decorated with Egyptian motifs. They were executed with a miniaturist’s precision on a black wall polished to a mirrorlike shine. It is one of the most...

“One of the finest – and most controversial – works of third-century relief sculpture is the fragmentary sarcophagus found at Acilia, near Rome. It is an example of a later form of Roman coffin that art historians call the lenos (bathtub)...

“One of the finest – and most controversial – works of third-century relief sculpture is the fragmentary sarcophagus found at Acilia, near Rome. It is an example of a later form of Roman coffin that art historians call the lenos (bathtub)...

“Scenes from the Zliten mosaic showing (top left) a man condemned to be killed by beasts. He is pushed towards the animals on a miniature chariot. The other scenes show animals being hunted by venatores, and a fight between a bear and a bull...

“The andron is roughly 5 by 5.8 metres [meters] (16 1/2 by 19 feet). The raised platform round the edge of the room is 82 centimetres [centimeters] wide, and was painted bright yellow. The platform has space for a maximum of nine couches. There is...

“The building, dating to the late Augustan period, presented the appearance of a two-storied cube. The ground floor is occupied by a wide hypostyle hall (13.5 x 15.7 m or 44 x 51.5 ft.) with four columns at its center, which was used for public...

“The courtyard at the back of the central wing also has a nymphaeum, with a deep pool. The sacellum that seems to emerge from the pool is covered with mosaic, and the paintings on the walls of the courtyard create the illusion of a garden to make...